Weber State University
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Visual ArtsResults of Assessment 2007-2008 (submitted 05/26/08) 2008 Assessment of Graduating BFA Students Background In the Spring of 2008 the Department of Visual Arts completed its first assessment of students graduating in the BFA program. With the exception of the general art majors, all visual arts majors with an area of emphasis, such as 2D, 3D, Photography, and Visual Communications now complete this 72 hour program. To be admitted the students must first complete 12 hours of Foundations courses and then undergo a portfolio review to determine whether they are sufficiently prepared. In this process a majority of the faculty, generally ranging from 8 to 11, review the student’s work and assess four main criteria: the use of form, composition, and design; the sophistication and development of their ideas; the execution and presentation of the work; and their writing ability. In Spring semester 2008DOVAfaculty reviewed a number of graduating BFA students through a review of their BFA exhibit. The BFA exhibit showcases the work of graduating BFA students and is a culmination of the two capstone courses, the BFA Seminar and the BFA Thesis. In the exit review, the faculty used the same criteria as in the entrance review and the students were ranked in the following manner: 5 = outstanding work for a graduating BFA student. 4= very strong, 3 = good, 2 = weak, 1= considerable problems. We thencompared their initial scores, indicating what we believe to be an indicator of preparation and potential success in the program, with the final review, that we consider to be a capstone overview of actual success. Results of the Assessment The averages for all four categories were above 3.6 indicating that that as a whole the students were solid BFA graduates. Student 1 was somewhat weak regarding the amount of thought she had put into her paintings, i.e. historical context and her perspective of such a context. Student 5 was very weak in the presentation of her exhibit and somewhat weak in conceptual development. It should be noted that this student petitioned the department to take the two capstone courses consecutively instead of separating them with a semester as is recommended. Conclusions and Future Directions Overall this small sample of students seems to indicate that the BFA program as a whole is functioning well. The weakness shown by Student 5 will cause DOVA to reevaluate whether or not we will let students take the Seminar and Thesis courses consecutively. In the future we will conduct the review twice a year thus assessing both the Fall and Spring graduates. We will also expand this review to include the Visual Communications students who currently do not participate in the BFA exhibition but instead produce a design portfolio. In addition, we are implementing a more formal tracking program for our graduates so that we may continue to assess their success in graduate school and employment.
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